Driving vs. protecting - keeping your sanity

[Jason S]

I'm a touch concerned about taking the Model S near gas stations even to take a quick bio break on road trips or to grab a snack from the food mart; wary of ticking someone off over there (particularly as my license plates go OILSTNX)!

lol, I have faith people are nicer than that. You won't go around defacing ICE cars just because yours is nicer, will you?

 

[ckessel]

(particularly as my license plates go OILSTNX)!

With a plate like that you're sort of tempting fate there...

 

[SCW-Greg]

I'm a touch concerned about taking the Model S near gas stations even to take a quick bio break on road trips or to grab a snack from the food mart; wary of ticking someone off over there (particularly as my license plates go OILSTNX)!

Love the plate GG!

Yeah, just never know who the person is that's going to well up with envy, and take it out on your car.

 

[Lloyd]

'Scuse me. Where are THOSE spots?? I deal with the 'compact car only' spots filled with SUVs every morning when I look for a spot at work. I'd sure like to find those big parking spaces you're talking about.

My office. And next month with 70 amp J1772 and dedicated EV spot.

 

[FlasherZ]

At work, I always hunt for end spaces where I can park over a line and give my car a buffer.

For what it's worth, that "buffer space" isn't just there for convenience... It's there for visiblity and safety of cars and pedestrians. Parking over the line is just as bad as taking up two parking spots, if not worse, for the safety of fellow humans. You're better off centering yourself properly in a remote parking space.

 

[CyberDutchie]

With a plate like that you're sort of tempting fate there...

Not in California, but in Houston, TX for sure :wink:

 

[Bruno Suárez]

Not in California, but in Houston, TX for sure :wink:

Regarding Houston... I agree.

 

[Robert.Boston]

As I posted in another thread, many of the pricey cars in my office garage use a car cover to protect the car from dings. Seems like a plausible approach to me.

 

[unclfuzzy]

As I posted in another thread, many of the pricey cars in my office garage use a car cover to protect the car from dings. Seems like a plausible approach to me.

No way I'm hiding my Model S under a cover! I'm resigned to dealing with the eventual door dings, and cleaning everyone else's drool off it.

 

[sp4rk]

'Scuse me. Where are THOSE spots?? I deal with the 'compact car only' spots filled with SUVs every morning when I look for a spot at work. I'd sure like to find those big parking spaces you're talking about.

You are 'scused.

Parking spaces like the attached are becoming more available in Illinois.

 

[pete8314]

Don't all Costco's have the double line spaces? Having lived in the UK for 37/41ths of my life, I can confirm that parking spots in the US, or at least in Texas, are giant by comparison! And don't even get me started on parallel parking, you can fit 2 cars in one of thes spaces (3 if you're from France). However, even in the UK, Costco had the double lines.

 

[sp4rk]

Very good eyesight.

This lot happens to be a CostCo but I've actually never shopped at the place.

And had not attributed it to being Costco ... but there are a few others near here that are the same way.

37/41ths.

 

[AustinPowers]

Be glad that most of you live in the US, where (at least according to my experiences in Ohio, Illinois and Michigan) the majority of parking spaces are huge in comparison to what we have here in Europe. Here, parking your car has become somewhat of artform, and it is not so much a question of avoiding dings and dents, but of who has the least amount of them!

 

[JRod0802]

...USA: Big parking spaces. Some are even divided with "double lines"...

I see the double lines at most supermarkets and places like Target. I love the double line parking spaces. Here's a local supermarket with double lines:

(credit Google Maps)

 

[ElSupreme]

I see the double lines at most supermarkets and places like Target. I love the double line parking spaces. Here's a local supermarket with double lines:

(credit Google Maps)

I like how (from my count) about 5-6 of the 13 vehicles in the picture are parked over a line. Granted one is a truck and trailer.

 

[pete8314]

Very good eyesight.

This lot happens to be a CostCo but I've actually never shopped at the place.

:scared: You need Costco in your life

 

[Aieukl378]

As we all know an EV vehicle begs/demands to be a car that is driven - frequently. Particularly in the city.

The current car that we drive everywhere is a relatively new Avalon Limited, and it's a very fast car, while getting up to 32mpg on the highway and 26 in the city... yet this car is getting beat up in the parking lots - attracting door dings and dimples galore, even someone spraying oven cleaner on the passenger door (causes the paint to blister). The car is pearl white (it's covered under insurance), but they have to paint the entire side to get it to match. That's the cost of pearl white by the way, gorgeous to look at, but a nightmare to touch up.

What I'm worried about, is that the Model S (or X or Roadster) would be magnets for vandalism... getting keyed, bumped, banged, sprayed, etc, but not necessarily by accident. That's one of the reasons I don't spend too much on cars, and my wife hates to try and keep the vehicle clean from the kids, or worrying about driving the wheels in to the curb etc. "It's just a car!" she states. Nice cars are more than just tools in my mind.

And the S is a juxtaposition of extremes on so many fronts. It begs to be taken care of, respected, like a high-end collector's investment, yet for good battery health, it should be driven most days. It begs to be a highway cruiser, yet it yields more savings in town (from the grocery store and back). It begs to be "my" car (because I'll keep it immaculate and keep track of battery management), but my wife wants a car that can carry 7 people (think muddy kid's soccer team).

Do you hire a bodyguard for the car when you go shopping?
How do you do all the above and keep your sanity?

Well...I hate parking lots and always park in "no man's land" tho I'll parkn'charge when available. I've always done this with any new car and I remain "dingless"